Oscar And Lucinda [1997]

Customer Reviews:

The only boy who could ever reach me, was the son of a preacher man.......2008-02-21

The only boy who could ever reach me, was the son of a preacher man, February 21, 2008
By jingles_sunderland (Morrisville, NC United States) - See all my reviews

I watched this again recently having last seen in on VHS some years ago. What was an excellent film then is even better now, particularly the sound which is a revelation where the tinking glass is concerned.

The technique of using a narrator does not always work but is it is most apt, and in particular at the end. One leaves after watching this film much as one does after a gourmet meal...extremely satisfied with what you have consumed but not wishing to eat another morsel and yet this continues over time so that you do not feel the need to return.

I was transfixed throughout by the "action" within the film. There is certainly much to think about or to delve into afterwards to get the entire picture. The story seems to be without any obvious flaws and the casting is superb with the main players clearly complemetary to each other and the cinematography is superb.

One thing that I had not paid too much attention to during my first viewing was the appalling and barbaric treatment of the indigenous population. Clearly the scene of the massacre is a solitary tale of man's inhumanity to man but the subsequent scene of the abuse of the aboriginal woman in the inn is a more subtle but nevertheless graphic reminder of the way in which settlers have behaved throughout the world. This point carries with it greater poignancy given the recent apology without compensation by the new Australian Prime Minister to the indigenous people for past abuses such as described above.

All in all a feat for the eyes despite the sad and tragic ending clearly reminiscent of the conclusion of Breaking the Waves.

Not a good movie without a good story........2007-11-02

Even mediocre filmaking can produce a movie we like if there is a strong and original story. But this is not mediocre filmaking, and it certainly is a strong story. This is one of the few films that really doesn't remind me of any other film. The obsessive and compulsive gamblers strong personalities are brilliantly played by two up and coming actors, that have since proven their talents. A tantalizing glimpse into greater futures to come for Blanchett and Fiennes. The scenes of shattering glass, and floating the glass church up the river are not to be missed.

An off note, far off, in a dusty little down in Baja Mexico, there is a very similar portable church designed by Gustaff Eiffel of, you know, the tower. There is a spooky resemblence to the church in the film. Coincidence? Or did someone do some extra research?

Rushed.......2007-07-14

You'll have to excuse me but I'm going to be one of those bores who say "it isn't as good as the book". Being a bit of a weighty tome the book was always going to be a bit tricky to translate onto the screen and this adaptation suggests that a lot of the original scenes were cut out. If I hadn't read the novel, and therefore known the plot, I would have been thinking to myself "what the hell's going on" at the start of the film. That aside, it's still a marvelous story and Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett provide almost the same Oscar and Lucinda that my imagination had conjured up. The main reason why I've marked the film down is that the original ending has been changed. We are let down gently rather than having to suffer the full force of life's injustice slapped across our face. A compromise has been made to cater for a crowd pleasing (fairly) happy ending.

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